On
the hillside of Duluth resided a young boy whose dreams and
goals would make a lasting impression on the nation and the
world. "I was going to build something. I built some boats
but I thought the airplane was much more fascinating." Robert
Gilruth
Born
in Nashwauk to Henry and Francis Gilruth on October 8, 1913,
Robert moved to Duluth when he was just nine. The family lived
in a modest home at 701 North 20th Avenue East until 1956. His
maternal grandfather, a mining captain, grandmother, aunt and
uncle lived just two blocks away.
"In
the small sunroom adjoining the three bedrooms upstairs, Bob
used to study and tinker with his planes and crystal radios. The
view from there spans neat yards and tree-lined streets... It’s
a wonderful spot for a boy to dream and fashion his goals for
the future. Reading and quiet reflection, the kind that sharpens
thoughts and is not mere daydreaming, always played an important
part in the family’s home life." Duluth
News Tribune, October 13, 1962
"I was going to build something.
I built some boats
but I thought the airplane
was much more fascinating." Robert
Gilruth
The
son of educators, his father was the principal of Morgan Park
High School and his mother was a substitute teacher primarily in
high school math and home economics. A close family, the
Gilruths nurtured their young son, guiding and encouraging him
to pursue his ideas and experiments.
"I
started building model airplanes before the age of balsa wood
and piano wire, Japanese tissue and ambroid. When the American
Boy magazine came out with those things, that was a revolution
but I learned about that technology from the Duluth News
Tribune, which was our local paper. The newspaper had imported a
man from Chicago who was a model airplane builder, champion, to
teach a class of Duluth boys who might want to attend. This is
how I got sort of a giant step into that business." Gilruth,
NASA Interview 1986
Robert
went to school at the Duluth Normal School, a training school
for teachers, East Junior High School, and Duluth Central High
School, graduating in 1931. He continued his education at Duluth
Junior College, on the top floor of Denfeld High School and
graduated in 1933 with "A’s" in all courses dealing
with aeronautics, chemistry and mathematics. The depression had
settled on the nation however, Gilruth chose to pursue his
education at the University of Minnesota. He received his
masters in aerospace engineering in 1936.
Continued
